LBReport.com

Doug Krikorian / Viewpoint

Krikorian Notes: From Councilman Rex Richardson Displaying Courage To Show Up At A Long Beach Restaurant Association Meeting
To The Countless Millions Lost On Unoccupied LB Buses
To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy’s Latest Mean-Spirited Edict
To the Irritating Silence Of LB City Manager Tom Modica
To LB Mayor Robert Garcia Ignoring His Constituents For Political Reasons
To Bob The Black Labrador Parading Down The Peninsula Boardwalk Holding A Large Palm Limb In His Mouth

Mr. Krikorian, an award winning journalist and author of two books, earned multiple awards in his 22 years of writing for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and 22 years for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He is happily retired.



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(Nov. 25, 2020, 7:10 p.m.) -- "I'm a straight shooter," proclaimed 9th District Councilman Rex Richardson as a guest speaker at a Wednesday afternoon gathering of a Long Beach Restaurant Association meeting in the upstairs terrace at Michael's.

I don't know about that, but I do know Mr. Richardson displayed courage appearing in a hostile atmosphere overflowing with passionately disgruntled restaurateurs who must shut down their businesses at 10 p.m on Thanksgiving eve.

Actually, when Mr. Richardson was asked point blank if he was in favor of the latest lockdown of Long Beach restaurants, he replied I thought grudgingly, "I'm not in favor of it."

But, alas, he spent most of the time informing the audience in complex detail how the City Council will take up various issues pertaining to this latest Covid-19-related development during meetings scheduled on December 1, 8 and 15.

But he also said no votes will be taken at these sessions, which meant to me that nothing will change and 15,000 restaurant employees in Long Beach will remain unemployed throughout the Holiday Season.

He also said only the city health czar, Kelly Colopy, could reverse the lockdown course, to which an audience member, former mayor Bob Foster, shouted out, "It can be changed if the City Council unanimously voted it down."

After further pointless blather, the old Pine Avenue restaurant pioneer John Morris summed up the proceedings perfectly: "This is all bullshit...We're all going to be closed for the rest of the year and a lot of people are going to suffer terribly for decisions by heartless people who just don't care."

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  • We all are quite aware of the dreadful financial waste endemic to government-run agencies, but I can't think of any that squanders as many millions of dollars -- billions? -- than Long Beach Transit whose buses I seldom see occupied by more than one or two customers and too often are quite empty. What a scandalous waste of money. . .

  • I get a gut-wrenching laugh when I hear Long Beach has its own supposedly independent health department, since Kelly Colopy's despised organization -- I've never heard a tavern or restaurant owner discuss it without employing a stream of colorful epithets -- always follows whatever insanity the LA County health department imposes on businesses.

  • It doesn't surprise me that another independent health department in LA County, the one in Pasadena, decided to keep patio dining in its restaurants open during the Holiday Season. Unlike Long Beach, it clearly has a leader, Mr. Michael Johnson, who thinks for himself and realizes the disastrous repercussions imposing another lockdown on restaurants that already are on the precipice from the previous one that caused thousands of permanent closures in California. . .

  • Look, I understand we're in the midst of a Pandemic and Covid-19 is a terrible disease, but even health officials admit there is no data showing outdoor dining has caused a Coronavirus upstick. And who in the hell is someone named Kelly Colopy from perhaps the most insufferably elitist academic institution in America, Smith College, to tell me I can't dine outside if that's my personal choice?

  • While restaurateurs figure to lose a ton of money, if not their businesses, in the latest governmental lockdown, those who are employed in such establishments figure to have a dark, financially-challenging Holiday Season.

    Last December, our credit card gratuities were $180,000 that was split up among our 20 servers," reveals John Morris, operator of Boathouse by the Bay. "This December. It will be zero."

    And, of course, this doesn't even include cooks, busboys, dishwashers, janitors, valets, etc., etc., etc., who will feel the searing monetary pain inflicted on them by people like the esteemed California governor, Gavin (Do What I Say, Don't Do What I Do), Newsom, Eric Garcetti, Robert Garcia and, of course, Kelly Colopy. . .

  • It's not surprising that Mr. Garcia, who might well be remembered as the worst mayor in Long Beach history, has betrayed his own constituents in this latest lockdown lunacy, since it was he who allegedly gave that infamous stand down order to Chief of Police Robert Luna last May 31st that ultimately resulted in 231 Long Beach businesses being looted.

    Clearly, he was in favor of Kelly Colopy's stance, and even texted LA County Board of Supervisor Hilda Solis to "do the right thing," which I guess she did when her vote was the difference in the Board's 3-2 margin in favor of carrying out the LA county health department's restaurant lockdown edict.

    It's clear Mr. Garcia's sole purpose in life at the moment is to curry favor with Newsom, as well as his close friend, Vice President elect Kamala Harris, and not deviate one iota from any policy being meted out by a Democratic Party leader. . .

  • Once again, I'm astounded that there isn't one person -- not one!!! -- among Long Beach civic leaders who will come out publicly and forcefully disagree with the stands of Robert Garcia and Kelly Colopy on this latest controversial issue.

    I've lost feeling in my fingers keeping them crossed so long hoping that our city manager, a party named Tom Modica, will emerge from whatever cave he safely hides in, but, nope, nary a peep from the guy with supposedly the most power in this city.

    I have to believe he's in total agreement with everything Mr. Garcia does, since he even remained silent in the aftermath of the tragedy that beset our fair city on Memorial Day. . .

  • On my daily walks through Belmont Shore and the Peninsula, I constantly see entertaining oddities, but none more so than a beguiling, energetic seven-year-old black Labrador called Bob, who always seems to have a large palm tree limb lodged in his mouth as he trudges down the ocean boardwalk. "Bob's done that since he was a pup," says his proud owner, Bernadette Sommerfield...

  • Talking about palm tree limbs, what an awful eyesore they were for three weeks on 2nd Street in Naples before they were finally removed by members of the Long Beach Public Works Department...

  • I actually saw a city truck parked on Bay Shore Ave. the other day called Long Beach CleanTEAM. Maybe I'm wrong about Silent Tom Modica. Maybe he's planning to sic the CleanTEAM on the City Hall swamp that has been polluting Long Beach far too long...

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    Previously by Mr. Krikorian:

    How Many Long Beach Restaurants Will Be Forced to Close After Latest Lockdown Lunacy?


    Where's Krikorian? Temporarily On "Injured Reserve List" Recovering From Shoulder Replacement Surgery
    Krikorian Notes: From Nico's George Mlouk Praising LB Mayor Robert Garcia For Working To Help LB Restaurateurs To A Plea To LB Health Czar Kelly Colopy To Restrain Her Overzealous Sleuths To Lakers Deserving NBA Title To LeBron James Turning Anthony Davis Into Passionate Competitor To Vital Contributions Of Lakers Coach Frank Vogel And GM Rob Pelinka To Sadness Of Passing Of The Great Joe Morgan And Its Impact On Maury Wills' Hall Of Fame Chances
    Famous Long Beach Restaurateur Phil Trani Days Of Joyful Memories And Pandemic Miseries
    Krikorian Notes: From The Irritating Silence Of The Long Beach Politicians In Not Supporting Their Citizens To The Whereabouts Of LB Mayor Robert Garcia To The Whistles Favoring The Lakers Against The Nuggets To The Greatness of Patrick Mahomes To The End Of A European Vacation Streak That Started In 1989
    LBUSD Superintendent Jill Baker’s 70,000 Student Online Virtual Teaching Miscalculation A Disaster!
    Krikorian Notes: From The 9 Unworthies Of The LB City Council To The LB Upstick In Shootings And Speeding To Restauranteur John Morris Horseback Riding On A Wyoming Mountaintop To The Walking Adventures Of Earth Man
    Jeff Cozart's Time Of Torment: Will His Belmont Athletic Club Survive Gavin Newsom’s Latest Lockdown?
    Krikorian Notes: A Labor Day Elegy For Those In The Long Beach Business Community Who Were Violated In The Memorial Day Looting Frenzy To The Palm Tree Limbs Littering 2nd Street To The Scooters Littering The Belmont Shore Bridge To The Virtual On-Line Spectacle At Big Mike O'Toole's Household
    Krikorian Notes: From Long Beach Mayor's Ascent To Dem Stardom Because Of Lockstep Embrace Of The Party's Policies To The Enchanting Parklet Dining On 2nd Street To Tearing Down The Hoops in Belmont Shore To Greg Silver's LB Departure To Huntington Beach To Bob Rice Protecting Me From Isiah Robertson
    Don Kramer Was A Character Like No Other With His Zaniness, Goofiness, Joyfulness, Kindliness Who Left All Who Knew Him With Lasting Memories Of Slapstick Antics And Mirthful Anecdotes
    Krikorian Notes: From Majority Of LB Teachers Skipping Classrooms For The Comforts Of Home To Dr. Jill Baker Becoming Another Maria Montessori To Terry Antonelli Discussing Resurrection of L'Opera To Mayor Robert Garcia Touted By MSNBC's Brian Williams As A Future U.S. Senator To Kershaw's Magical Transformation
    Long Beach's Renaissance Man, Chuckie Miller, Reflects On His Entrepreneurial Life And On Racial Inequity
    Krikorian Notes: From LB's Elected Leadership's Reimagining Delusions To the Gaslamp's Outdoor Wall Video Band Show To The Ghastly USC Coach, Clay Helton
    FDR's Grandson, Delano Roosevelt, Talks Democratic Party, JetBlue, Long Beach And His Life
    LBPD Chief Robert Luna: Stand Up For Your Fifty Ousted Cops!
    What Next From Long Beach Health Boss Kelly Colopy, Hazmat Suits For Our Restaurant Servers?
    Sadly, Our National Pastime No Longer A Pastime For Me
    Parklets! Three Cheers For Long Beach Politicians!
    Memo To LBUSD Sup Jill Baker: Return The Kids To the Classroom!
    A 2 1/2-Hour Commute To Work A Joy To This 86-Year Old Gentleman
    Long Beach Politicians Once Again Fail Long Beach
    Is Long Beach Destined to Become the City That Never Sleeps?
    I Never Thought I'd Live To See These...
    Ben Goldberg Exits Long Beach, Now Nearby Refugee In OC
    Long Time Long Beach Resident Dave Lopez Climaxes Storied 48-Year TV Career
    From Krikorian's Notebook: When Will LB Police Chief Luna Come Clean About May 31 Downtown Long Beach Looting Frenzy?
    From Krikorian's Notebook: (1) LBUSD Mgm't Mulls Keeping K-5 Kids Indoors Without Normal Access To Playground, Cafeteria, Auditorium Activities; (2) And More...
    Will LB's New School Sup't Allocate Untimely Pay Raise To Serve Students?
    Awaiting Governor's Dictate To Decide Fate Of This Year's (July 3) "Big Bang On the Bay"
    Mayor/Council Sounds Of Silence After LB Cops Let Some Pillage Our Village
    Excuses By Long Beach Police & Politicians Dishearten Damaged LB Businesses
    Hallelujah! LB Mayor Pleads For Sac'to Permission To Lift Closures That Needn't Have Occurred
    Speak Up, Mr. Mayor, On Governor's Unwise Edicts. You Can Do That And You Should
    My Beloved Long Beach: A Victim Of Irrational Government Overreach Beyond Reasoned Response To Virus
    Support really independent news in Long Beach. No one in LBREPORT.com's ownership, reporting or editorial decision-making has ties to development interests, advocacy groups or other special interests; or is seeking or receiving benefits of City development-related decisions; or holds a City Hall appointive position; or has contributed sums to political campaigns for Long Beach incumbents or challengers. LBREPORT.com isn't part of an out of town corporate cluster and no one its ownership, editorial or publishing decisionmaking has been part of the governing board of any City government body or other entity on whose policies we report. LBREPORT.com is reader and advertiser supported. You can help keep really independent news in LB similar to the way people support NPR and PBS stations. We're not non-profit so it's not tax deductible but $49.95 (less than an annual dollar a week) helps keep us online.



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